Improved hand-mirror



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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

W. U. DUDLEY, 0E NEW YoEK, vAssieNoa To HnusEEE AND LAWRENCE W. CLARK,OF BROOKLYN, N. Y.

IMPRovt-:D HAND-MIRROR.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 92,942, dated July 27,1869.

1b all whom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, W. U. DUDLEY, of the city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inHand-Mirrorsfor Toilet Use and other Purposes, the same forming a new and usefularticle of manufacture ,s and I do hereby declare that the following isa t'ull, clear, and exact descri ption thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, which form part of this application, and inWhich- Figure l represents a longitudinal section, at right angles toits face, ofa hand toilet glass or mirror constructed according to myimprovement, and Fig. 2, a rear view ofthe base-piece, with itshandle-stiffencaconstitutingone ofthe details ofthe same. Fig. 3 is aface View ofthe mirror complete.

Likelettersretertolikepartsinallthetgures.

My improvement relates to that description of hand-mirrors for toiletuse and other purposes in which the frame that holds the glass iselongated at one end to form a handle; orit may be similarly shaped atboth ends. The usual mode of constructing such mirrors is to mount theglass in a solid frame ortbin block of wood, either naturally ofornamental character or afterward made soby veneering,cut or shaped soas to be of similar contour to the glass, and with a projecting endformed to constitute a handle. Apart from the expense of hand-mirrors soconstructed, where a very ornamental appearance is required, there isnot only a general want of strength, especially at the neck or junctionof the handle with the body, but a great liability to fracture of theglass by the twisting or warping of the wood of whichthe frame orholderis made. This latter defect is not merely at first or peculiar tovany greenness of the wood or newness of the article, when fracture ofthe glass from such causes frequently occurs, b ut is induced at anytime by sudden and violent changes in the temperature ofthe atmosphere,exposure to damp, and extreme heat. My improvementobviates such defect,being non absorbent as regards damp, and free from any liability towarp, at the same time combining beauty with strength at a comparativelytriiiing cost; and the nature of my invention consists iu mounting theglass- 011 a base-piece, of wood or other materia-l, havingastiifening-extension running into the handle, and embedding the whole ina composition or cement of suitable'desoription that on hardening formsthe back edges and outside handle of the mirror.

VFor the information of others whom it may concern, I will proceed todescribed the saine A with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A is the glass; B, a base-piece, of wood or other suitable material,preferably of similar contour to the glass which is designed to bemounted-on it, but elongated at one end, which extension, with a stripof metal or other stout material at its'back, forms a handle-stiffeuer,C, to the mirror. This base-piece, with its handle extension orstiffener C, is then laid in a mold or on a block, face downward, withor without the glass Ain its place, and a composition or cement ot' anysuitable plastic material applied in sufficient quantity to cover theback and extend beyond the edges of the basepiece B, and so as t'osurround the handle-'stiff- A ener or end extension ofthe latter, whenan upper mold of suitable configuration and having its interiorembellished with any ornamental device or devices is pressed down uponthe ceinent,.which, when hard o r dry, on removing the upper mold andlifting the article from the lower one, constitutes a smooth ortinished, and -f it may be highly ornamental, outer back and handle, D,impervious to damp, exempt from warping, With its consequent liabilityof fracturing the glass, and perservative of the Wooden or otherbase-piece` which may be of a cheap and rough construction, and that byits end extension, with strengthening-strip at its back, gives not onlya general stability to the whole article, but especially stitfens thehandle at'its junction with the back or body, where it is naturallyweakest or most liable to break. Theunder mold or block mayalso beembellished with 1 any ornamental device.

, The glass may either be laid on a cushion of the lower mold,`so asv tobe embedded at its edges, simultaneouslywith the forming ofthe outerback and handle, in the plastic composition or cement, or it may beafterward inserted and restrainedv to its Yplace on the base pieceeither by an ornamental bead around the edges of the glass and formed ofthe saine composition or cement of which the outer handle andback aremade, or ot' dierent material afterward run round and applied thereto.

As I do not desire to confine myself to any particular composition orcement of which to form the outer handle and back, but design to use anyplastic substance or eompound of snitable character, it will heresuffice to state that a mixture in equal parts (more or less) of'paint,sifted sawdust, andshellaeibrms a very desirable composition for thepurpose.l and one which readily admits of the color bein g varied toSuit different tastes or demands.

Having now described my improvement, I

claim as a new article of manufacture- A hand or portable toilet-mirrorconstructed, substantially as described, of a base-piece, B, with itshandle extension piece or stili'ener C, glass A, and oute'r back andhandle, D, made of any suitable composition or cement, substantially asspecified.

W. U. DUDLEY.

Witnesses:

A. LE CLERC, J. W.CooMBs.

